The woven gauze fabric is a coarse-meshed plain-woven fabric. Generally, a solid (non-hollow) twisted cotton yarn is used. A cotton woven gauze fabric is classified into a single woven fabric, a double woven fabric, and a triple woven fabric. A single woven gauze fabric is, for example, used for the medical use and dishcloth. A double woven gauze fabric is, for example, used for clothing and handkerchief. A cotton yarn (single yarn of 40 count) is used. A triple woven gauze fabric is, for example, used for towel and bed and bedding. A cotton yarn is used. Generally, a single weave construction is dense with the total 50-120 warp yarns and weft yarns per inch. The gauze is not formed with the density of less than 50 yarns per inch. Generally, a fabric of the density beyond 120 yarns per inch is not referred to as gauze.
FIG. 14 is a detailed cross-sectional view illustrating a typical double woven gauze fabric. The double woven gauze fabric is composed of a surface-layer gauze weave construction A and a back-layer gauze weave construction B. The gauze weave construction is composed of a warp yarn (lengthwise yarns on a loom) and a weft yarn (crosswise yarns on a loom). The gauze weave construction is formed by drawing the weft yarn across the warp yarn while the warp yarn is supplied. Concurrent with the formation of the surface-layer gauze weave construction A and the back-layer gauze weave construction B, the surface-layer gauze weave construction A and the back-layer gauze weave construction B are joined, as appropriate. As shown in FIG. 14, a connection part may be formed by the warp yarn or may be formed by the weft yarn.
The gauze is a coarse-meshed (largely gapped between yarns) fabric. From one viewpoint, the gauze has an excellent breathability and a high lightweight property because the gauze is a coarse-meshed plain-woven fabric.
From another viewpoint, the woven gauze fabric is poor in heat-retaining property. The woven gauze fabric is thin even when it is formed into a multi-ply gauze, so that the heat-retaining property cannot be expected. When the woven gauze fabric is formed with more number of layers for the sake of securing the sufficient heat-retaining property, the lightweight property is degraded largely.
Because the gauze is a coarse-meshed fabric, the gauze is poor in bounce and softness.
Because the gauze is a coarse-meshed fabric, for example, if the gauze is used for clothes, the skin is seen through via the clothes made of gauze. If the gauze is formed with a thicker yarn or is formed highly dense, a transparency preventing property improves but the breathability and the lightweight property, which are characteristics of gauze, are degraded largely.
For the reasons as set forth above, properties of the conventional woven gauze fabric are not enough when the woven gauze fabric is applied to cloth for clothes and beddings. Therefore, the inventors of the present application considered that there is something more to do for improving the woven gauze fabric.
Meanwhile, non-twisted yarn-made piles are sometimes used for a pile towel.
A generally used twisted yarn is formed by twisting fibers made of raw cotton. To the contrary, the non-twisted yarn is formed by untwisting a twisted yarn to return the yarn to a non-twisted state.
The non-twisted yarn puffs up softly and contains much air between fibers. Therefore, a non-twisted yarn-made pile achieves the heat-retaining property and a soft touch feeling.
Here, application of the non-twisted yarn to the woven gauze fabric is studied. A non-twisted yarn-made gauze weave construction has a bulkiness, while retaining the breathability and the lightweight property, more than a twisted yarn-made gauze weave construction. As a result, the heat-retaining property, the soft touch feeling, and the transparency preventing property improve.
Generally, the non-twisted yarn has less strength than the twisted yarn. Therefore, a gauze weave construction composed only of non-twisted yarn has less strength. Even when the non-twisted yarn-made gauze weave construction is formed into a multi-ply gauze, a remarkable improvement in strength is not expected.
Taking the above into consideration, the inventors of the present application studied about the application of the non-twisted yarn to a multiple woven gauze fabric in such a manner that a gauze weave construction composed of twisted yarn and a gauze weave construction composed of non-twisted yarn are joined together.
While the gauze weave construction composed of twisted yarn retains the strength, the gauze weave construction composed of non-twisted yarn has the heat-retaining property, the soft touch feeling, and the transparency preventing property. That is, the multiple woven gauze fabric comes to have properties both weave constructions have.
The applicant of the present application has already proposed the related invention according to, for example, the Patent Literature 1.